Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Berlin - Day 3 (Part II)
Scavenger Hunt
The Scavenger Hunt was a 5 hour activity that Mr. Mobini designed in order
to lift up our spirits after visiting the concentration camp. We were given 12
different tasks of which we needed to complete 10 of and the winners receive
free dinner. The tasks had us go to different landmarks in Berlin and get our
pictures taken. Chris, Willow, Aaron, and Jessika teamed up together while
Renee and Katie, Elena and Jena, and Karanjot and Connor were in their own
groups.
We (Karanjot and Connor) took the S Bahn to Alexanderplatz in an attempt to
get some food. Unfortunately, we did not get any food and ended up getting lost
for about 20 minutes. After getting back on route, we walked to the Babelplatz.
That is where the Nazis held book burnings. We waited for a group of old ladies
to finish up taking their pictures before we promptly took pictures of us lying
on the ground next to a memorial commemorating the event. The group of old
ladies started to laugh at us. After that, we walked to Checkpoint Charlie,
which is where the border crossing between East and West Germany was. The task
asked us to pose as guards at the checkpoint, so we decided to cross our arms
as bouncers. Next we went to the Topography of Terror. That is where the old SS
and Gestapo headquarters used to be. We took some pictures, read the
information, and then wrote two small paragraphs reflecting our feelings. Since
a large portion of the Berlin Wall was still up close by, we decided to complete
our next task there. The next task had us take our pictures while standing in
no man’s land next to the Wall. After that we took the U Bahn to the
Brandenburg Gates and walked over to the U.S. Embassy. Unfortunately we were
unable to complete our task at hand as the police officer that we were to shake
hands with and get our picture taken with said that it is against policy to
take pictures of people in uniform or to touch a police officer. Next we
completed our next task of getting a silly picture of us taken under the Brandenburg
Gates. After that we walked a short distance to the Parliament building. The task
that we had to do there had us get our picture while planking in front of the
building. Next we walked a long distance to the Victory Tower to get our
pictures taken next to it. For one extra point we climbed up all of the stairs
to the top of the tower. The climb was long, but the view was spectacular. After
that we took the S Bahn to the entrance of the Zoo. We got our pictures taken
next to the main entrance. For another extra point, we had some live zoo
animals in the background. With only one task left to complete, we rushed over
to the S Bahn and rode over to the Ostbahnhof. Once there, we got a complete
stranger to pose with us as we pointed at the platform 11 sign. Then we rushed
onto the train and sped walked over to the hostel.
After showing Mr. Mobini our glorious accomplishments, we were rewarded with
free dinner. We had traditional Berlinian dinner consisting of currywurst, doener kebab’s,
and Thai food. It was good food and a really fun excursion. See you in Colonge!
–Connor and Karanjot
Berlin - Day 3 (Part I)
KZ Sachsenhausen
After a late night full of goofing around telling jokes and talking about pet peeves, we awoke early this morning and made our way through the rain, to the train, and ended up at the gates of KZ Sachsenhausen. Sachsenhausen is 40 kilometers north of Berlin and was a labor camp designed by Heinrich Himmler, one of Hitler's right hand men. If you really know the people on our trip, you would agree that we are FAR from a quiet group. However, upon walking through the main gates of the camp, we were silent. The horrifying triangular shaped labor camp once held 200,000 Soviet prisoners of war, Jews, and other groups targeted by the Nazis. Walking into the barracks were especially shocking. Chris and I got chills up my spine as we walked along the creaky wood floor and saw pictures of intolerable work conditions, inhumane treatment by the officers who ran the camp, and pictures drawn by the people of various tortures inflicted upon prisoners. I'm (Jessika) not a queasy person but I felt extremely uneasy and disturbed seeing and walking upon the ground were such attrocities happened.
The two hours we spent there were freaky, especially the chilled morturary underneath the disection room where the dead were examined upon the same table as the food was prepared for the prisoners. There was no such thing as sanitation. We also looked through the fence between two of the many guard towers and saw the foundation from the crematorium where the dead were thrown to get rid of the evidence as the Allied forces began liberating camps. In the spot where they dumped the ashes, 20 tons of human remains were found. Walking through this camp was unlike anything we have experienced before. In the train on our way to the camp, we were curious and interested to go. After we left, the atrocities that took place there had taken their toll on us. We heard stories about people being shot trying to escape, families torn apart, and saw the spots were people were unjustly tortured. It stops your heart and makes you almost ashamed to be human. It was shocking to learn that Sachsenhausen is in the city boundaries of Oranienburg. The houses around the camp had no clue what was going on there and taught us the true separation of the Germans and the Nazis. It is unfortunate and sad that this awesome country has to carry the scars of such a horrible event and group of people.
Specifically designed to cause the most horror and control, the countless watch towers, hanging poles, and roll call area of Sachsenhausen rattle the core of a person. The group felt immense shock and fear at the attrocities that happened in the very camp we were in. As a whole, it was a very somber time and it allowed us to really reflect upon history and gave us a deeper understanding of WWII.
Thankfully, we have a scavenger hunt to look forward to this afternoon because our spirits need some lifting. More to come of the hunt later, wish us luck! ~Chris and Jessika
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Berlin - Day 2
Monday, July 9, 2012
Berlin - Day 1
On the
turning away…
Today I
woke up at 5:15 to go finish packing and get ready for the long train ride to
Berlin. It was very early in the morning
so I packed myself a sandwich consisting of bread, two slices of cheese, and
three slices of meat, and an apple for breakfast. I left my host family’s flat at around 5:30
and got to the train station in Markt Schwaben at around 5:50. We then proceeded to take the train to the
Munich HBF and then the train from there to Berlin. The train ride to Berlin took about 5 hours
and was pretty boring. Everyone was partnered up with a seat buddy except for
Aaron. It was interesting to watch a few
of my fellow students to accidentally walk in or get walked in on in the
bathroom as they did not figure out how to lock the door. After a while, Chris, Willow, and I took a
short trip to the food car to burn some time.
It was interesting walking past the German teenagers on the train as
they were a lot louder and stared at us as we walked past. Chris and Willow bought some coffee while I
bought an ice-cream bar. We then leaned against the wall and talked for a while
as we consumed our items. I got bored
sitting on the down after another hour or so and ended up spending the
remaining train ride standing behind Chris and Mr. Mobini’s seats. We had some very interesting
conversations. After we got off of the
train, we went to food court to have lunch.
Then we got on the S-Bahn and walked to the hostel.
The hostel’s
name is the Hostel Odyssey. It has a very charming yet vigilant atmosphere to
it. There are statues in the main lobby, one of which is of the grim reaper.
There is also a chalk board with some information about things to do for each
of the days of the week. After getting settled
in, we started our walking tour of Berlin.
I must say that West Berlin is a much nicer area than East Berlin. One of the more notable landmarks was the Brandenburg
Gates, which was very grand.
My favorite was visiting the Holocaust
Memorial. It was very trippy as the
ground and sides of the cement pillars were all slightly warped. We also
visited parts of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. For dinner we stopped
at an Italian restaurant. I had pasta with bread. It was a very long day. – Connor Wise
Today
started at five O’ clock. Waking up to half sunrise I lazily walk into the
bathroom and get ready for a day of adventure. My host mother, Nadine, made me sandwiches
for the trip and we drove to the nearby train station where we said our
goodbyes to our hosts. As they drove off, Mr. Mobini asks for our color copy
IDs and I did not have mine. It seems I left mine at home and with a half
sarcastic look he hands me my passport. From the entrance we walk onto the
platform where we wait for our Munich train.
After
boarding and reaching the Munich ostbahnof we took a small break and then we
boarded our train to Berlin. The fast, ESP, train would take us straight to
Berlin with only a few stops on way. After a relaxing five and half hours and
some embarrassing moments of people walking in on each other in the bathroom we
reached our destination: Berlin. My first impression was that it was bigger
than Munich, more graffiti, and it has bigger buildings. Then we took a lunch
break where an interesting lady came up to me and asked for money, fortunately
a worker came up and told her to leave. My first impression of Berlin: great.
After the break Mr. Mobini showed us the main train station and then we boarded
trains that led us into East Berlin. From the station we walked to our hostel:
Hostel Odyssee. 
We started
at the Alexander Platz where we saw the tower and we headed to a church close
by. Then we went to the Bibelplatz where we saw the memorial of the book
burning the Nazis did during their reign. From there we walked to the Berlin
cathedral, which was beautiful. Afterwards we walked down the main street to
the Brandenburg Gates, crossed the place where the Berlin wall used to stand.
Then we went to the main parliament building of Munich. My favorite part of
today’s trip was the Holocaust Memorial, it was simple and grey, but at the
same time very beautiful.
It completely represented the Holocaust in full.
Afterwards we took a dinner break and later we went to see the remnants of the
Berlin Wall. After a failed attempt to see the cathedral, which stood after the
bombings of both the world wars, we came back to the Hostel Odyssee. Now I am
blogging about the great day I had! -Karanjot Gill
Ich Bin Ein Berliner!
We have arrived to Berlin... We will be here until Thursday morning! Hope all of you are doing well...
And we even got a quick bite to eat at Burger King.... More updates to come soon!!!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Mr. Mobini's highlights - Week 1
What can I say, we have been nothing but blessed in this experience so far. We arrived last Monday morning and have experienced German food, culture, and of course Franz Marc Gymnasium. Each student spent the weekend with their host families either traveling around Bavaria or even getting to know their hometown. I had the privilege to spend my Friday with the teachers who have so graciously made us feel welcomed down in Munich for dinner.
Eventually I escape for the rest of the weekend to my cousins house in Pasing, which is only 15 minutes west of Munich. Along the way, I had the joy to make two quick stops to Schloss Nymphenburg; great castle in the city of Munich and the BMW Welt; I can't even begin to imagine how amazing it would be to drive one... now if I can only have 80,000 Euro's... that was one of the cheapest car I saw. Both places were awesome!
I had one weekend to relax and strengthen up, tomorrow, July 9, we are off on our 6 day tour of Germany. This tour will take us into such cities as; Berlin, Aachen, Cologne, Nuremberg, and of course back home to Markt Schwaben on Saturday, July 14 with Sunday as a host family day before we gear up to present our topics to our sister school.
So many great blog entries to come. We hope that all of you are doing well and that this blog really helps you see and experience our trip.
Eventually I escape for the rest of the weekend to my cousins house in Pasing, which is only 15 minutes west of Munich. Along the way, I had the joy to make two quick stops to Schloss Nymphenburg; great castle in the city of Munich and the BMW Welt; I can't even begin to imagine how amazing it would be to drive one... now if I can only have 80,000 Euro's... that was one of the cheapest car I saw. Both places were awesome!
Weekend in Review - Week 1
Every body's working for the weekend!
This weekend my host family took me to Shloss Neushwanstein, the castle of Ludwig the second, the crazy king of Bavaria long ago. It was a bit of a hike to get up to the castle, but it was well worth it. We hiked to a bridge where we could see a perfect view of the castle. It was so beautiful; it was the model for Cinderella’s castle in Disney Land.
My host sister and I took many pictures
from the bridge. After this, we walked to the castle for our guided tour of the
rooms inside. We were able to see the king’s thrown room, bedroom, living room,
dance hall and many other lavishly decorated rooms. It was so pretty. It almost
felt like we were able to see how the king lived back in that time. After we
left the castle we went to a dry lounge, where we on carts with wheels down a
long slide on the side of a mountain, it was very fun. When we got back to
Markt Shwaben we had a delicious dinner of roast meat, dumplings and red
cabbage. My weekend was very memorable. Every day I am seeing how beautiful
Germany truly is. -Eleana
This first weekend was a blast! Saturday morning
I got to sleep in, THANK GOD! It was needed.
Bianca, my host, dances Rock ‘N Roll; it’s like a combination of
ballroom dancing, acrobatic cheerleading, and Riverdance. It’s AWESOME! Her dance group is called ‘Wild
16’ and they dance to fun upbeat music and wear some of the funkiest costumes
ever. After braiding all the girls hair,
yes I did all their hair for the dance, I was in shock as I watched girls
thrown up into the air and do flips or be lifted completely parallel by their male dance
partners. The dance competition lasted
all day, we got back at midnight. But it
was so fun!! Then on Sunday we went to Nyphemburg Castle in Munich, had lunch
(but no beer) in a beirgarten in the middle of the largest fenced in forest in
Europe, and I packed for this trip to Berlin.
Getting up this morning was difficult…I had my alarm set for 4:45
AM. It sucked to say the least but I am
really excited for Berlin and miss my host family already. Over and out, Jessika
La bella vita!
My first weekend here in Germany was amazing. It
started out on Friday after school I went with Tim to meet up with some of the
other Americans and their German hosts to go see a movie in Munich. We saw The
Amazing Spiderman, thankfully it was auf English J After the movie we got
out of the theater and it was pouring down rain so we were definitely in a
hurry. We headed back to our houses by train around 10pm. The next day I woke
up early around 7:00am and ate breakfast with the family and then we headed out
to Bozen (Bolzano), Italy. We travelled through Austria so it took about 4
hours with traffic. On the ride there, there were so many castles randomly
throughout the mountains. It was beautiful! Once we arrived we parked the car
and walked around, went shopping, and soaked up the sun! The little Italian
town was really nice. Around 6pm we made our way back to Germany, stopping to
get some delicious pizza on the way. By the time we finished with our pizza it
was around 8pm so the way which we had come to Italy was closed, so we took
another pass which took us all the way up a winding mountain and back down
again. I fell asleep on the car ride home, but we finally got back around
midnight. On Sunday I got to sleep in a little, only till around 10am since
breakfast was at 10:30. We quickly ate breakfast so that we could make our way
over to the Olympic Park in Munich. We went up the Olympic Tower and gazed at
the amazing sight of Munich, that of which including the BMW world. :) After
that we walked over to a festival called Tollwood and sat down to eat and get
something to drink. It was so hot and sunny out that day, so I got a bit of a
sun burn but nothing I can’t handle! We eventually went back to the house and
had a barbeque, the food was delicious! As the night winded down I packed up
for our week long trip and soon fell asleep. I woke up this morning around 5:05
due to my phone falling on to the floor. (my alarm didn’t go off) and Tim’s
dad, Stefan, took me to meet up with our group at the train station. I’m super
excited for Berlin! Bis Spater! –Willow.
Wake me up, before you go go…
My weekend started with hanging around the Nett
household, playin video games and snarfin on some food. We bummed around until
around 8 when we went to my hosts best friends birthday party. We hung around
his house, played video games, and watched America spoof movies from 5 years
ago which they found hilarious. They stayed up until a spritely 6 am. I could
only pull off staying up until 4 am. The next morning/afternoon I woke up a 2
pm due to the late Tollwood festival.
Tollwood is a sortof like folklife with
many vendors and bands playing. A lot of really good food. Sunday was a very
relaxed day. We hung around and played a lot of ping pong. I won, of course. Then
we rode bikes to the local pond and layed in the sun. what I found interesting
is that when hanging at the pond, teenagers just bring a backpack of beers and
just start casually drinking in public which seems very different.
Unfortunately, none for me. –Christopher Robin J
The simple life..
My
weekend basically consisted of relaxing, playing video games, eating, and
sleeping; essentially, being on vacation.
I also briefly went to the Tollwood festival, which was full of Bavarian
culture. I was in need of a relaxing
weekend after a full week of Bavarian emersion, so I was happy that I was able
to kick back for a few days. Needless to
say, I’m refreshed and ready for a fast week of touring. –Aaron
Viva Italia!
Ever since the first day I stayed with my family,
they have been talking my ears off about taking a weekend trip to somewhere
exciting. One evening, my host-father brought out his laptop and showed me
pictures of an ancient arena in Verona. He then told me that he had bought us
tickets to see the Romeo and Juliet opera in the ancient Arena di Verona! I was
so excited to drive with my family to Italy! Friday night, we left around 4:00
after my host-parents returned home from work. It was frantic getting
everything together and packed up, but we finally left for the drive that would
compare to the drive from Seattle to Spokane. Although I was asleep during most
of the drive, I woke up while we were in the Alps, a much more exciting sight
to wake up to rather than the Pass in Washington. We stopped for McDonald’s to
get a cappuccino before entering Italy. The building was by far the nicest
McDonald’s I have ever seen, with the back wall made entirely of windows
looking into the Alps. After the quick stop, we were on the road again. Next
stop, Verona! I could already tell we were in Italy, because there were olive
trees everywhere! Italians definitely took advantage of any open space they had
to plant beautiful crops.
he sunset was so breathtaking as well. Sarah and I
had our own hotel room on a small street. The building itself looked like it
was full of history, although it was just an ordinary building. We relaxed in
our hotel rooms for the night getting ready for the busy day ahead of us. In
the morning, we set off to a market that sold everything. I saw purses and
wallets, dogs and birds, meat and fish, and a lot of little toys. We walked
through the market for about an hour and we decided we were done. My
host-mother bought a beautiful scarf for herself for only €1 and I regretted
getting one for myself. We walked back to our car and we drove into the city.
We walked under a great arch and into a little shopping district. My
host-father pointed to a sign that read “Capulet Household”. We walked through
the streets for a few blocks and were led do a crowded plaza. We saw Juliet’s
balcony and we were able to walk through the house. My host-parents bought me a
postcard and a magnet from Verona while I was taking pictures. After that, we
walked through some stores on the street and then we went back to the hotel to
relax for about an hour. I took a short nap and changed my clothes because we
were going to soon be leaving for the Romeo and Juliet opera in the arena. We
got there at 7:00 so that we could reserve our seats in the arena. However the
opera started at 9:00, so we had a lot of time to kill. Our host-parents left
first to get a cappuccino and then Sarah and I left to walk around. We took
pictures outside of the arena by the props and sets that were too big to be
left inside. I was already getting so excited after seeing the huge and
beautiful sets! The sun set and the opera was starting to begin. It started so
exciting and the actors were amazing! It was remarkable and I don’t have any
words to describe how grateful I am that my family took me to experience this
weekend in Italy! The opera ended at 1:00 in the morning and we went back to
the hotel. We slept in late and then we drove back to Munich. It was definitely
one of the most exciting weekends I have had in a long time. –Katie :)
Loving the Bavarian life…
For me the weekend started on Friday
with a quick trip to Munich with Carina, Lisa, and Karenjot. We were going to go to an Italian restaurant
called Vipiano but unfortunately it was closed for renovations. Despite our
disappointment we were still hungry so we decided to go to the restaurant that
was next door. It was a very small yet busy Thai Restaurant. It was very difficult to find a spot but
eventually we found a free table. The food there was very good; I had cooked Thai
noodles with vegetables and chicken.
Afterwards we walked around Munich for a bit until we got to Lisa’s
Mom’s work. She works in an attorney’s
office on the third floor. There was no
elevator so we climbed the three flights up a spiral staircase. After meeting with her mom we all went to get
ice cream! I got chocolate and vanilla in a cone, the chocolate definitely
tasted different meaning it was less sweet than American chocolate ice cream. Then we walked around Munich while we ate our
ice cream. We walked through a weekend
market that sold all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. There was a May Pole that we saw while we
wandered the market. Then we walked back to the S – Bahn and rode back to Markt
Schwaben.
Once we returned to Markt
Schwaben, Carina had a practice drive lesson.
While on her lesson I fell asleep in the back seat throughout the entire
ride which can only mean she is a great driver! Upon waking up I found out that
she had been going about 120 Miles per hour on the autobahn…I was very sad that
I was asleep for that part. Saturday I
woke up very late in the morning. Since
Carina and I had planned to go to Erding with Lisa and Karenjot we got ready
fast so we could catch a taxi. Unlike
the taxis in America this taxi only ran on the bus routes and had to be called
an hour ahead of time. Nevertheless it
took us to the S-Bahn station where we met Lisa and Karenjot. We missed the first train and had to wait a
bit, but soon enough we were in Erding.
I Erding we wandered the streets in search of an open restaurant where
we could stop for lunch. Our search led us to a store where I got some new
earrings and a new pair of shoes. Then
we finally found a little restaurant where we got some lunch. The French fries tasted just like potatoes
and did not taste the same as the typical American French fry. Afterwards Carina’s mom came and got Carina
and I. Mama Herbst had also picked up
Carina’s brother Fabian and two of his friends from their soccer game. We all got bubble tea then were on our way
home. Once we were home Carina’s parents
left to go to a BBQ so Fabian, Carina, Fabian’s friend Alex, and I all had
pizza for dinner. After dinner Carina and
I went to a party with some of her friends.
The party was a lot of fun and I made a lot of new friends despite the
language barrier since I spoke English and German and they spoke Bavarian.
Those who were 16 enjoyed beers and those who were 18 enjoyed mixed drinks or
shots. I on the other hand enjoyed
sparkling water.
The next day we just
had a lazy day around the house we slept in till late morning. Since it was laundry day Mama Herbst got all
the laundry done. I on the other hand
spent a lot of my day outside playing on the trampoline or in the pool with
Carina’s little sister Antonia or laying back in the sun tanning…that’s right I
said tanning, I am no longer the shade of pasty white I was when I got here.
Overall this weekend was fantastic and I can’t wait for next weekend. –Renee :)
Relatives,
Royalty, and Relaxation
The
weekend: a very short break from the
troubles, exhaustion, and school of the week. My weekend started Friday
afternoon, right after school, where Lisa, my host, and I met Carina and Renee
at the school’s playground. From there we went to Lisa’s house in order to drop
off and get some things for our lunch in Munich. After retrieving our purses
and neccesities, we all walked to the Espon station (the train station) which
is only ten minutes. We took the train that set us in the heart of Munich and
walked to a restaurant to have a nice lunch. However, the restaurant was closed
so we ended up eating at Thai restaurant next door. The food was good, but not
as good as a particular restaurant in Seattle. After a filling lunch we went
around Munich and visited Nadine’s work (Lisa’s mother). The building which
Nadine works in is absolutely beatutiful and ancient. There was even an old
school painting of the former owners of the building. Then we all were treated
to ice-cream and we went around the huge marketplace of Munich where the May
Pole is located. From there we walked around Munich talking in the many
building and wonders of the city. Shortly after Carina and Renee had to part
from us and we went our separate way.
Lisa, Nadine, and I went to get Nadine’s
car and then we headed towards a nearby train station where we picked up Katja
(Lisa’s younger sister). Then they showed me the nearby mall and we shopped at
H&M and went to the supermarket (located in the mall). After Katja and Lisa
bought some clothes we all headed to the mall supermarket where we bought groceries
for the house. The best part was that they could take the cart down to the
basement of the parking lot and place it in the nearby cart station… Anyways,
we came home ate dinner, watched “How I Met Your Mother”, and went to sleep.
The following day I woke up quite late and Lisa was already gone because she
had a orchestra lesson which she must attend. I lazily woke up and got ready
for the day. After breakfast I watched some TV, until Lisa came home and it was
time to go to a nearby town called Erding. We walked to the station where we
met Carina and Renee and we rode the train to Erding. Once we were there we
shopped for a while and we all bought items for ourselves. I got a box of
German pens: they are very nice. We were starting to become hungry so we found
a nearby café where I ate cheesy nachos they were good, but not as good as my
mother’s nachos. After eating, Carina and Renee left and Lisa and I were picked
up by Nadine, Katja, and Thomas (Lisa’s dad) in which we went into the town’s
hotel to meet Lisa’s relatives. That day I met Lisa’s grandparents, uncle, and
aunt. They were all very enthusiastic and very nice (especially the
grandmother) even though they did not speak a word of English. The night went
by with a traditional Buvarian dinner and walking around Erding. Until, it was
time to say goodbye and go back home. Once home we all went to sleep. Sunday
morning was also a very lazy morning where I got up to the sounds of barking
dogs outside my window. After the regular routine of getting ready and eating
breakfast I started to get my affairs in order.
To get myself organized I
worked on my journal and also my personal journal and I made sure everything
was tidy. By the time I was done, Lisa came home from her work at the bakery
and the family all ate lunch. After lunch Lisa, Nadine, and I went to see the
Nymphingburg castle in Munich. The interior of the castle was absolutely
gorgeous: with detailed decorations over all the walls, paintings of monarchs,
and very old and classy furniture. After the tour of the castle we went to a
carriage museaum which was on the same property where we saw the royal
carriages and they were decked up. They had gold all over, fancy embroidery,
statues, and even paintings all over. We even saw some of the saddles the
horses must have had to wear and they looked very, very heavy. Then we went to
a guesthouse, also on the grounds, and walked around the castle gardens.
However, it was getting late so we went home where we had dinner and I prepared
for the week long journey. The next morning I woke up at 5 am and got ready
then I came to the train station and I said my goodbyes. –Karanjot
Goosnargh
On
Saturday Philipp had to go to school at 8:00 to do a chemistry experiment about
Vitamin C. I woke up at around 8:30, got
ready, and ate breakfast with my host parents.
We had our normal bread with butter, meat, and jelly. Then we left to go to the Alps and go
hiking. Hiking in Germany is very
different as it is mostly through large cow pastures instead of forests. As a result, there was very little tree
coverage and shade, making the trip very hot.
I was very excited to walk right up next to all of the cows, which I
could constantly hear mooing and ringing their bells throughout the day. There were crosses and beer gardens at the
top of the hills that we stopped at and had drinks at.
After getting back from the hiking trip, we
picked up Philipp and went to one of their friends’ going away party. We had barbeque and sat around. It was nice.
On Sunday, we also went hiking higher up in the Alps. That time Philipp’s mom stayed behind as us
guys hiked up the large open hillside, crossed a valley, and got to the top of
the hill where the cross was in about two hours. After going back down and reaching the beer
garden near the base of the hill we had a few drinks and desserts to eat. Then we went back to the car and drove
home. It was a very interesting
weekend. –Connor
Time With family
This past weekend I was able to visit with my family that
lives in Egling, a small town in Bavaria. I had not seen them in 6 years and it
was great to see them and my cousins. My uncle and younger cousin picked me up
Saturday morning and we drove an hour back to their house. We went out to lunch
and I was able to practice my german and they could practice their English. I
got to catch up with them and tell them about my experience in Germany so far.
Later, we went to my other uncles house and had dinner with everyone.
On Sunday, my aunt and uncle brought me back to my host family’s house. We went to Daniela’s uncles house for a nice BBQ and I spoke with her family about America and Seattle. Overall, it was a great weekend, especially being able to see my family. –Jena
On Sunday, my aunt and uncle brought me back to my host family’s house. We went to Daniela’s uncles house for a nice BBQ and I spoke with her family about America and Seattle. Overall, it was a great weekend, especially being able to see my family. –Jena
Fairytale in Bavaria
This weekend my host family took me to Shloss Neushwanstein, the castle of Ludwig the second, the crazy king of Bavaria long ago. It was a bit of a hike to get up to the castle, but it was well worth it. We hiked to a bridge where we could see a perfect view of the castle. It was so beautiful; it was the model for Cinderella’s castle in Disney Land.
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